Termon An Tearmann | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 View of Termon and its church | |
  Termon Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 55°02′50″N7°48′55″W / 55.0473°N 7.8153°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Government | |
| • Dáil Éireann | Donegal |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | C118221 |
Termon (Irish : An Tearmann, meaning 'place of sanctuary') [1] is a village in the north of County Donegal, Ireland.
Termon is located, on the N56 road, approximately 14 kilometres (9 mi) northwest of Letterkenny and 13 kilometres (8 mi) southeast of Creeslough. The area around Termon includes the townlands of Currin, Doon, Drumlaurgagh, Gortnalaragh, Drumbrick, Drumoughill, Cloncarney, Terhillion, Gortnalaragh, Clonkilly, Knocknabollan, Fawans, Drumdeevin, Drumfin, Barnes, Stragraddy, Ballybuninabber, Letterfad, Goal and Gurtin, Loughaskerry.
There are several hills close to Termon, including Lough Salt (469m), the hills of Barnes-Crockmore (the "Resting Bishop") with peaks at 324m, 349m and 307m, and Stragraddy mountain (285m).[ citation needed ]
The Lurgy river (Irish : An Lorgaigh) runs through Termon. Other bodies of water in the area include Clonkillymore Lough, Clonkillybeg Lough, Cloncarney Lough, Doon Lough, Lough Darragh, Lough Askerry and Lough Mnafin.[ citation needed ]
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort, standing stone and megalithic tomb sites in the townlands of Drumbrick and An Ghabhail. [2] The ringfort in Drumbrick townland is situated at the top of Drumbrick hill and is visible from the Burn Road.[ citation needed ] Other historical sites in the area include:[ citation needed ]
There are a number of religious sites around Termon, including holy wells, Mass rocks and other places of worship. Several of these sites are significant to members of the local Roman Catholic community.[ citation needed ]
The local Catholic church, which is dedicated to St. Columba, [3] is one of two churches in the Catholic parish of Gartan and Termon within the Diocese of Raphoe. [4] St. Columba's Church was built c. 1903. [5]
Doon Well (Irish : Tobar an Dúin) was established by Lector O'Friel sometime around the 1670s. Doon Well's origins are pre-Christian and a number of Bronze Age artefacts were found near the well.[ citation needed ] A 'tóchar' (ancient wooden road) also runs underneath the bog adjacent to Doon Rock. The water from the well was historically used in the inauguration ceremony of the O'Donnells. Stations and rosary are still 'walked' from St. Columba's chapel to Doon Well on Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) and May eve.[ citation needed ]
Ethne's Well (Irish : Turas an Ri), in the Barnes townland, is a named after Columba's mother Ethne. This holy well had stations performed on 9 June for nine nights.[ citation needed ]
Mass rocks were used to secretly celebrate Mass, during the time of the penal laws, by members Catholic Church in Ireland. There are thought to be several mass rocks in the Termon area.[ citation needed ] If a priest was caught celebrating mass at these sites, a priest hunter would put their quarry into a barrel of nails and throw him off the nearby cliff still called Binn an tSagairt or "Hill of the Priest".[ citation needed ] There is a mass rock in the Terhillion townland of Termon; Terhillion (Tirkillin) means place of little huts or churchyard. The townland of Fawans also has a mass rock.[ citation needed ]
Doon Rock (c. 120m in height) is approximately 2.5 km (1.6 mi) south of Termon and west of Kilmacrenan. It is the site where 25 O'Donnells were inaugurated as Chief of the Name and Lord of Tír Chonaill from Eighneachan in 1200 to Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill in 1603.
Timothy T. O'Donnell, writing in 2001, describes how Red Hugh O'Donnell was inaugurated on 3 May 1592. O'Donnell states that:
Then, in honour of the Holy Trinity, Hugh may have surveyed his clan lands as he walked three times sunwise around the peak of Rock of Doon, after which the members of the other Irish clans present acclaimed him as "O'Donnell". [6]
The local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club, Termon GAA, was founded in 1963 and has its grounds at the Burn Road in Termon. [7] As of 2025, the club's senior mens team were playing in the Donegal Senior Football Championship, [8] having won the Donegal Intermediate Football Championship in 2024. [9] Termon's Ladies' Gaelic football (LGFA) team were crowned All-Ireland Ladies' Club Football Champions in 2014, defeating Mournabbey of Cork in the final. Termon LGFA have won two Ulster Club Championships - one in 2010 and one in 2014. [10] [11]
